The Brinkman model for natural convection about a semi-infinite vertical flat plate in a porous medium (Q1064933)

The authors consider the problem of steady two-dimensional free convection in an ''extensive'' porous medium adjacent to a vertical semi- infinite flat plate. For the incompressible flow in the constant and isotropic porous matrix, it is assumed that the Boussinesq approximation is valid and that the Darcy approximation replaces the convection terms in the Navier-Stokes equations. The authors introduce the parameters \(\epsilon:=(Ra)^{-1/2}\), \(\sigma:=(Da/\phi)^{1/2}\), and \(T:=\sigma /\epsilon\), where Ra is a Rayleigh number, Da is a Darcy number, and \(\phi\) is the porosity. They distinguish (i) the inner viscous sublayer of thickness O(\(\epsilon)\) with the no-slip boundary conditions at the wall, (ii) the middle thermal layer of thickness O(\(\epsilon)\), and (iii) the outer potential layer of thickness O(1). The authors assume that \(\sigma \ll \epsilon\) and they neglect the \(O(\epsilon^ 2)\) influence of layer (iii) on the layer (ii). For (i) and (ii), they evaluate the terms f orders \(T^ 0,T^ 1\), and \(T^ 2\) in an asymptotic expansion in powers of T. In the limit as \(T\to 0\), a matching procedure is used for layers (i) and (ii). Due to the no-slip condition, the composite solutions reveal a drastic influence on the velocity distribution near the wall and a weaker effect on heat transfer, which is expressed by means of a new characteristic number defined via local Rayleigh and Darcy numbers.